slowworm

American  

[sloh-wurm] / ˈsloʊˌwɜrm /

noun

1. blindworm.

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slowworm British  

/ ˈsləʊˌwɜːm /

noun

1. Also called: blindworm.  a Eurasian legless lizard, Anguis fragilis, with a brownish-grey snakelike body: family Anguidae

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Etymology

Origin of slowworm

before 900; slow + worm; replacing Middle English slowerm, slowurme, Old English slāwerm, slāwyrm, equivalent to slā- (compare dialectal Swedish slo, Norwegian slō slowworm) + wyrm worm

Example Sentences

No will-o'-the-wisp mislight thee, No snake or slowworm bite thee, But on, on thy way, Not making a stay, Since ghost there's none to affright thee.

From Two Little Travellers A Story for Girls by Arthur, Frances Browne

A snake or an adder would have begun to move away the moment any one stopped to look at it; but the slowworm takes no notice, and hence it is often said to be blind.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard

The warmth of the sun, although we could not feel it, must have penetrated into the earth some time since, for a slowworm came forth on a mound for the first time on April 16.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard

A silvery creature like a slowworm came crawling out from among them, slowly crossed the clay floor, and crept into the fire.

From Lilith, a romance by MacDonald, George

Since then a large silvery slowworm was killed just there—a great pity, for they are perfectly harmless.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard